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Quick side note. I was told by Adam DesRosiers that one of the reasons Japanese sword smiths would fold and forge over and over and over is that if there are any air pockets in the steel, they would either be compressed out or stretched the full length of the sword, rendering them tiny, even and inconsequential. You think there is a real advantage to doing this over the way that Rand Jr does it?

BTW tell Jr not to rush it! I know how tasks like this can be. Gets old after a while, you start to go cross eyed.

LOL, Jr just came in and said 32009 layers.. after this weld. Hes quickly approaching a MILLION! Faster then I thought it would be. The 9 layers were added for s little extra contrast and to add a little more steel to the mix so we can have enough material when he reached 1,000,000 layers to make a Suji or a gyuto..

Inspired by God, Forged by Fire, Tempered by Water, Grounded by Earth, Guided by the spirit.. Randy Haas

Quick side note. I was told by Adam DesRosiers that one of the reasons Japanese sword smiths would fold and forge over and over and over is that if there are any air pockets in the steel, they would either be compressed out or stretched the full length of the sword, rendering them tiny, even and inconsequential.

I thought the main reason was to get an even distribution of the impurities of the tamahagane...

I was reading on the american blade smith's page a few weeks ago they were saying that over 500 is to fine to see.

Optimal for pattern development in straight
laminated billets is between 300 to 500 layers. Going the next step to 1,000 layers makes the
pattern too fine and staying under 300 it appears wide and bold.

posted by Don Fogg. After reading that I was wondering what something like what you are doing was going to look like. Thank you for not making me take forging lessons to see. Love the pics you 2 have posted on other threads. God has defiantly given you a great imagination that you have shared with your son, and I am very glad you 2 have shared it with others.